Chamberlain’s Fish Market
We went to the Restaurant Week Preview dinner at Chamberlain’s Fish Market last night with my mother and her husband. Dinner was about twice as good as I expected and the wine pairings were not quite as good as I expected.
Chamberlain’s is easy to get to in Addison and does not funnel everyone into valet. I would actually suggest skipping valet, because valet was quite backed up when we left and the rear parking lot is only about 20 feet from the door. This is definitely not one of those places where, if you don’t valet, you have to hike a mile to get a parking spot.
I liked the decor of the restaurant, it is very old school with lots of dark stained wood paneling and exposed brick walls. There are two dining areas, the main floor and the back room which only has four tables. We ate in the back room so that it would be more quiet and we could talk easier. The problem is, it is too quiet and the main floor isn’t some noisy bustling restaurant floor. So if you want to enjoy some anonymous conversation, the main floor is probably a better choice. The back room would be nice for a private party, but with only four tables, there is a good chance that when you are talking, the other tables may be in a period of silence, aka, enjoying your conversation too.
The wait staff was professional, but not smooth. I don’t know how to explain it any better than that, but go to the French Room and go here, and they are different. The French Room also costs twice as much 
I liked our waitress and she did a good job taking care of us. It could have also been that I was uncomfortable since I think this was the first upscale dining experience I can remember having with my mother. Not to say that I expected her to play football with the bread, but I worry about stupid shit like waiter-diner interaction.
The preview menu was very good. There was a wide selection, so if you didn’t want to eat fish, you could get a steak. Each course had a variety of selection with creative, but safe, preparations. Most of the table had shrimp and sweet corn salad for a starter, and everyone loved it, and wondered why we didn’t make it at home. The preparation seemed simple, but the combination of textures and flavors was wonderful. This was paired with a glass of Chalone Vineyards Chardonnay, Monterey 2006. I am not a big white wine drinker, and this is a perfect example of why. This wine seemed uninteresting to me. It did not enhance or compliment the flavor of the dish, nor did the dish seem to bring out anything extra in the wine. The wine just seemed to not compete with the dish. It was just something cool and refreshing to drink with my starter, like ice water with alcohol and a little flavoring. Of course, WTF do you expect for a $5.50 glass of wine. Jim had the coconut soup, which he liked because he enjoys eating crab, but not all the work that goes into getting crab meat out of the crab. He is a Shiraz drinker, and while I didn’t question him directly about the wine, the impression I got was that he thought his wine pairing was exactly as he expected it would be. White wine
The main course was divided between two halibut orders, one pork loin order and salmon skewer (the full menu is attached at the end). My mother and I each had the halibut, and I have to say, if either Brook or I could prepare fish like this, I would actually eat fish on a regular basis. I rarely get fish. I do not like oily fish like salmon, but I try to order into a restaurant’s strengths.
Side story. I enforced this belief onto Brook when we went to Morton’s a few years back. She was planning on ordering fish, and I gave her the “WTF is wrong with you, we are at a famous STEAK house. Actually, don’t worry about it, I will enjoy making fun of you for the rest of dinner for ordering fish at a steakhouse.” Brook ordered a steak which happened to be the best steak she has ever had, and has since always tries to order from a restaurants strengths. As a reward, I will take her to restaurants that specialize in seafood, so she can get a decent piece of fish. I just suffer.
Back on track. I ordered the halibut this night like I said and I certainly did not suffer this night. It was wonderful. Halibut is a white fish, so it lacks that fishy aftertaste that a fatty fish like salmon leaves you with. It also has little flavor, leaving the chef with just texture to build on. I didn’t lick my plate (and I worry about other people at a nice restaurant?), but I strongly considered it. My mother also enjoyed her fish although she might have actually left something on her plate. Another white wine was paired with this, a Solaris Chardonnay, Monterey 2004 which was a great find, because Brook liked it. Brook is a Riesling drinker, which fine, except there is a rather small selection of Riesling compared to a Chardonnay. There might only be a half a dozen Rieslings to choose from at the local liquor store, but there are probably 5 or 6 dozen Chardonnay’s.
Brook had the salmon skewer, which must have just met expectations because she didn’t comment on it at all. What she did comment on was that it was served with quinoa. Quinoa is an african grain that tastes like broccoli, Brook has made once because it is gluten free, and I have never partaken since. I mean, it is like little granules of broccoli rice. Does that sound appealing? Apparently Chamberlain’s makes good quinoa, but I passed on a taste test. It is tough to trust a celaic, since they can’t eat wheat, what they consider “excellent” to them can be quite horrible to a normal palette.
Jim ordered the crayfish stuffed pork loin. I have a sneaking suspicion that he ordered this because it was paired with a Shiraz. I totally forgot to ask him if he had that Shiraz before and if he enjoyed it. He did say that he enjoyed the pork loin, and it looked great. It looked better than my halibut in fact, but after having the halibut, I certainly would not have traded. Jim is a man of few words unless you get him going on construction, so I don’t have any impressions to share, but he was a member of the clean plate club.
Dessert! No cookies, no chocolate, so as far as dessert goes, I just pick the least bad choice on the menu. I had the tiramisu, which was good, but heavy on the mascarpone. Some of the lady fingers were actually almost dry, which I found a little strange. It was good, I like dairy rich, but I could see how some people would be disappointed. The real find was the wine served with dessert. The Scarpona, Moscato d’ Asti, Italy was just awesome. It was sweet, lighty, did not have a thick mouth feel, nor a cloying after taste that can be common with sweet dessert wines. It was very enjoyable, and Brook probably drank half my glass. The wine is very low alcohol, thus the reason it is so sweet. Wonderful find.
Jim passed on the final wine course that was paired with his cheese cake. He demolished the cheese cake, so it was either very good, or he was still hungry after 3 course and 3 glasses of wine.
Brook had a celiac problem with the desserts, everything had a component including gluten. So she ended up getting just the coconut sorbet, which she said was very good. I don’t like coconut, so I didn’t partake in the huge scoop she had.
I didn’t even review the wine list or the traditional dinner menu. I am sure they are decent and excellent, in that order, but when I arrived I was quite hungry, and didn’t want to delay the arrival of the appetizers too much. Bread preceded the appetizers, and it was good, and the compound butter it was served with, we actually considered taking with us. It was a well salted garlic butter, and it went awesome with the crusty sour dough.
One mistake I think we made was that the preview menu included a cocktail and none of us partook. If I would have been thinking a little more clearly, I would have tried it, since it was included in the price. Oops.
None of us tried the specialty course. I don’t like salmon, but no one was really interested in the combo. If the main component would have been anything but salmon, I would have given it a try. I dislike salmon so much, that the only thing I did not like at the French Room was a intermezzo course that was a salmon confit. If one of the best chefs in Dallas can’t make salmon I like, there is little hope for a salmon deviled egg. Still, I wish someone would have ordered it so I could have seen it.
And now the menu, reproduced without permission, but it is on the web anyway.
R E S T A U R A N T W E E K P R E V I E W M E N U
August 8 - 10, 2008
s t a r t e r s
Texas Shrimp and Sweet Corn Salad with marinated tomatoes
Paired: Chalone Vineyards Chardonnay, Monterey 2006
10 Cane Rum and Citrus Cured Salmon with Chive Crepe and Lola Rosa Salad
Paired: Firesteed Pinot Gris, Oregon, 2006
King Crab and Coconut Soup with Kaffir Lime
Paired: Two Oceans Sauvignon Blanc, South Africa 2007
s p e c i a l t y c o u r s e
Wild Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs with Caviar Crème Fraiche
CHOICE OF ENTREES
Lemon and Pine Nut Crusted Halibut with Tomato Caper Bruschetta
Paired: Solaris Chardonnay, Monterey 2004
Peppered Filet Mignon with Yukon Mashers and Port Wine
Paired: Cellar No. 8 Zinfandel, California 2005
Crawfish Stuffed Pork Loin with Wild Mushroom Rice Pilaf
Paied: McWilliams Shiraz, Australia 2006
Shrimp and Salmon Skewer with Quinoa and Citrus
Paired: Mirassou Pinot Noir, California 2007
DESSERTS
White Chocolate Passion Fruit Cheesecake
Paired: Pacific Rim Riesling, Columbia Valley 2007
Mango Sorbet with Tropical Fruit Compoteand Macadamia Cookie
Paired: Muscat de Saint Jean de Minervois, France 2006
Gran Marnier Tiramisu
Paired: Scarpona, Moscato d’ Asti, Italy
* * * * * * * * * *
three courses food
with 10 Cane Rum
Blue Point Cocktail
$40 per person
three courses wine
add $16.50 per person
any 3 glasses from the restaurant week menu
specialty course
add $5 per person